Sometimes, you make commitments in your life that are hard to keep up with as other demands in life take over! One of these may be the care and love of your pet at home, specifically, a dog. And though your fuzzy friend may be missing you, you may miss your time spent at home cuddling with your buddy.

This is exactly what thirteen-year-old Brooke Martin was thinking when she pushed herself to think of ICPooch. Martin, who resides in Spokane, Washington, started thinking of ways that she could video chat with her dog, Kayla, when she wasn’t home. Not only did she miss time spent with her dog, but the demands of growing up prevented her from spending as much time at home. This caused Kayla do develop symptoms of canine separation anxiety, characterized by depressed attitudes, being more destructive, and misbehavior.

Because of this, Martin invented ICPooch, a device that is connected to a smart phone or tablet for video chatting, and can also dispense dog treats to your dog. The video chat is automatically answered by ICPooch and is works through your at-home wifi. The dog can see you and hear you, and you can also see and hear your dog. The treats are dispensed by your choice to send a treat through an app.

The ICPooch is perfect for when you’re on the go and want to remind your dog that they are loved, even when you are on the go or away for a weekend. Martin reported that she saw great difference in Kayla’s activity and behavior after their practiced use of ICPooch when they were gone.

Brooke Martin’s simple yet clever invention is giving great headway for young adult inventions and use of science. Just from this project alone, Martin got to experience what it was like to build prototypes, manufacture and patent her product. She has since attended start-up events, given her pitch speech in under one minute, and selected for the 1st-runner-up in the national Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge.